Furniture construction

ABSTRACT

Office furniture comprises spaced pedestal file cabinets having flush or drop mounted tops connected therebetween to selectively form units of varying size and configuration. The file cabinets have open tops closable by one or more pairs of hinged doors. One edge of the door pair is pivoted to upper cabinet corners and the distal edge is pivotably and slideable retained in horizontal tracks on the cabinet sidewalls. The doors fold vertically to expose the cabinet interior.

United States Patent Inventor Douglas C. Ball Senneville, Quebec, Canada Appl. No. 804,868 Filed Mar. 6, 1969 Patented June 8, 1971 Assignee Massey-Ferguson Industries Limited Toronto, Ontario, Canada Priority June 12, 1968 Canada 22,387

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Primary ExaminerPatrick D Lawson AttorneyGerhardt, Greenlee & Farris ABSTRACT: Office furniture comprises spaced pedestal file cabinets having flush or drop mounted tops connected therebetween to selectively form units of varying size and configuration. The file cabinets have open tops closable by one or 6chimssnnwing Figs more pairs of hinged doors. One edge of the door pair is U.S.Cl 312/330 pivoted to upper cabinet corners and the distal edge is 1nt.Cl A47b 97/04 pivotably and slideable retained in horizontal tracks on the Field of Search 312/194, cabinet sidewalls. The doors fold vertically to expose the 330, 273 cabinet interior.

Z5 Z1 26 1 22 16 10 4 Z4 41+ 21 11h 22 I i 1 13k Z4 Z6 Z4 18 18 1 PATENTEU JUN 8 I97! SHEET 1 BF 2 M we s w m A w M 0 NJ NUN ml 2 s a a a n. n

s 3 a s 2 4 TTOR/VEYJ.

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION This invention relates generally to the construction of office furniture and is particularly concerned with the construction of modular units or subassemblies that can be utilized in a variety of arrangements.

The furniture constructed according to the present invention includes a pedestal unit, preferably in the form of a two drawer file cabinet. The pedestal unit or cabinet has a rear wall and a pair of sidewalls, and drawers are slideably mounted between the sidewalls in a conventional manner. The cabinet has an open top with a sectional cover mounted on a frame member supported on the upper edges of the rear and sidewalls. The sectional cover can be slideably and foldably opened to provide access to the interior of the cabinet through the open top.

Flush or drop mounted tops can be mounted between pairs of the cabinet units by brackets attachable to either sidewall of the cabinets.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one arrangement of com ponents embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view ofa pair of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the cover in an alternate position; and

FIG. Sis a sectional view taken on lines 55 of FIG. 4.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral collectively designates a pedestal in the form of a two drawer cabinet having vertical sidewalls I2 and 14 joined by a rear wall 16 with drawers l8 and 20 slideably mounted therebetween. Cabinet I0 is open at the top and a cover member 22 made up of hinged sections 24 and 26 overlies the open top.

Sections 24 and 26 of cover 22 are hinged together by a hinge member 25, and section 26 is hinged at 27 to a frame 29 supported on the top edges of the cabinet walls. A spring or elastic member 28 is secured at its ends to the cover sections 24 and 26 on their lower sides. Member 28 biases the cover to its folded position shown in FIG. 4 after initial movement from the overcenter position relative to hinge when the cover is in its closed position of FIG. 3.

The frame 29 includes a depending vertical flange 30, a horizontal flange 31 which overlies the upper edge of the cabinet walls, and an upright vertical flange 32 extending along the upper edge of the opposite sidewalls. Hinge 27 is connected along the upright flange 32 at the upper edge of sidewalls 12 in FIGS. 3 and 4. Extending along the opposite upper edges of the front and rear walls is a flange or track member 33 engaged by a projection 34 from cover section 24 so that the edge of section 24 is maintained in engagement with the guide or track member 33 during its movement from its open to closed position, and vice versa.

For utilizing the cabinet 10 as a pedestal of a desk, a pair of holes 35 are provided in the sidewalls l2 and 14 for receiving Allen screws 36 having head portions 36a. Holes 35 are formed with enlarged diameter portions 35a for receiving the head portions 36a when the cabinet 10 is used alone or unattached to other structure with screws 36 not in use. Nuts 37 are threadedly engaged with the shanks of screws 36 to secure them to the cabinet walls either in their storage position with the head portions 36a received in the enlarged diameter portions 35a of holes 35.

Screws 36 and nuts 37 may serve as fasteners to secure the upwardly projecting leg ofa drop mounting bracket 40 to wall 12 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The drop mounting brackets 40 each have horizontal legs receivable in a slot in the lower side of a desk top 44. On the opposite wall 14, a top 44 at the same level as the top of the cabinet 10 is mounted on a flush mounting bracket 48 which is received in a slot formed by a C- shaped member 46 embedded in the lower side of the desk top 44. The flush mounting bracket 48 has :1 depending flange 52 which is apertured to receive the shank of screw 36 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

With the cabinets I0 and the various support brackets illustrated, the basic components including cabinets I0 and desk tops 44 can be connected together in a variety of arrangements as illustrated for example in FIG. I.

While a specific example of the invention has been illustrated and described in the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings, various alternatives in the construction and arrangement of parts, all falling within the scope and spirit of the invention, will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the top compartment shown as drawer 18 may be made so as not slide open with the front panel being a dummy drawer front and the handle acting as a lock to lock the top cover in place.

Iclaim:

l. A cabinet comprising a rear wall and a pair of spaced sidewalls with at least one drawer slideably mounted between the sidewalls, a rectangular, open frame mounted on the upper edges of the cabinet walls, said frame having front, rear and side portions, a cover including a plurality of foldable sections hinged together, means hingedly mounting one end section of the cover on one of the frame portions, track members formed on the adjacent frame portions transverse to said one frame portion, and means slideably engaging the other end section of said cover with said track members such that the cover is movable between an extended position to close the top of the cabinet and a folded position to permit access to the cabinet through the open top.

2. A cabinet as claimed in claim I wherein each of said adjacent frame portions includes a horizontal flange for overlying the upper edge of the associated cabinet wall, a depending flange for engaging the inner side of the associated cabinet wall, and an upwardly and inwardly curved flange extending from the outer edge of the horizontal flange to define said track members.

3. A cabinet according to claim 1, including biasing means interconnecting a pair of the foldable sections to maintain the cover in extended position.

4. A cabinet according to claim 3, wherein the biasing means are also operable to bias the cover toward folded position upon movement of the cover out of the extended position.

5. A cabinet according to claim 1, wherein a pair of adjacent cover sections are hinged together about a lateral pivot axis, and including a biasing member interconnecting the adjacent cover sections and having a line of force extending above the pivot axis in the cover extended position to maintain the cover in the extended position.

6. Furniture construction comprising a pedestal unit having a pair of sidewalls, a pair of horizontally spaced cylindrical recesses in each sidewall near the upper edge thereof, fasteners in each of said cylindrical recesses, a pair of mounting brackets each having a vertical leg and a horizontal desk top support leg projecting outwardly from the vertical leg for supporting one end of a desk top, said vertical leg being secured by said fasteners to said wall. 

1. A cabinet comprising a rear wall and a pair of spaced sidewalls with at least one drawer slideably mounted between the sidewalls, a rectangular, open frame mounted on the upper edges of the cabinet walls, said frame having front, rear and side portions, a cover including a plurality of foldable sections hinged together, means hingedly mounting one end section of the cover on one of the frame portions, track members formed on the adjacent frame portions transverse to said one frame portion, and means slideably engaging the other end section of said cover with said track members such that the cover is movable between an extended position to close the top of the cabinet and a folded position to permit access to the cabinet through the open top.
 2. A cabinet as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said adjacent frame portions includes a horizontal flange for overlying the upper edge of the associated cabinet wall, a depending flange for engaging the inner side of the associated cabinet wall, and an upwardly and inwardly curved flange extending from the outer edge of the horizontal flange to define said track members.
 3. A cabinet according to claim 1, including biasing means interconnecting a pair of the foldable sections to maintain the cover in extended position.
 4. A cabinet according to claim 3, wherein the biasing means are also operable to bias the cover toward folded position upon movement of the cover out of the extended position.
 5. A cabinet according to claim 1, wherein a pair of adjacent cover sections are hinged together about a lateral pivot axis, and including a biasing member interconnecting the adjacent cover sections and having a line of force extending above the pivot axis in the cover extended position to maintain the cover in the extended position.
 6. Furniture construction comprising a pedestal unit having a pair of sidewalls, a pair of horizontally spaced cylindrical recesses in each sidewall near the upper edge thereof, fasteners in each of said cylindrical recesses, a pair of mounting brackets each having a vertical leg and a horizontal desk top support leg prOjecting outwardly from the vertical leg for supporting one end of a desk top, said vertical leg being secured by said fasteners to said wall. 